Love Sometimes Hurts
by HS1130
Summary: Nathan Scott and Haley James have been best friends for a long time, but when Haley falls for Nathan's arch rival, Damien West, how will it affect their friendship and how will Nathan deal with the feelings he can't seem to push aside? NH, BL, JP
1. Chapter 1

"Nathan! Please, wait!"

**Door slam.**

Standing there, staring at the door, I couldn't help but wonder _'Why does this keep happening?' _ Nathan Scott has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, well specifically Kindergarten. We actually met at the sandbox, near the high swings; I was building a sandcastle and…

"_Ow!" I yelled as I turned around to pick up the small yellow truck that had just hit the back of my head. Next thing I knew, a short, black haired kid came running up to me._

"_I'm so sorry!' he cried, 'I was aiming at this kid Damien, cause he was a pulling this little girls braids, and…and… I was, uh..." he went on rambling, very obviously on the verge of tears._

"_Stop! It's okay!' I giggled 'I'm not even hurt see…" I stated, showing him the back of my head. I took his hands in mine, to settle them from shaking. He was definitely really upset that he might of hurt me and I was fine, so why should he be worrying? I stood up and stuck out my hand "Hi! I'm Haley James."_

_He smiled and took my hand, obviously relieved, he said, "Hi, I'm Nathan Scott, and I'm really really really happy that you are okay!" I giggled at his goofy grin and he dropped my hand stating, "you have a cute laugh."_

_I giggled again at his compliment, "TAG! Your it!" I yelled as I poked him in the back of the head. _

"_You better hope you can run fast, Haley James!" He screamed with a smirk, as he set out after me…_

I sat down on the couch sighing. Why? Why are we always fighting now? I frowned, picking up the picture on the side table next to me. It was a picture of Nathan and me when we were 15; we were at Nathan's older brother, Tyler's, graduation. He was going to Stanford, to play football on a full scholarship. I remembered that day…

"_Nathan? Are you in here?" I yelled as I entered the gym, my forehead creased with anxiety. Where could he be? Tyler's graduation started in 10 minutes. "NATHAN?" it was then that I heard someone exhale loudly. I whipped around and scanned the darkness until I spotted my best friend sitting up on the top bleachers; his eyes fixed on something in the distance. "Where the hell have you been, dumb ass!" I exclaimed, until I saw his face. He looked tired, actually exhausted. And his eyes… they were glazed over with despair, but not just despair, there was something else there, something that I couldn't quiet put my finger on… maybe disappointment? I immediately took a seat next to him and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "Nate?" I asked tentatively. He closed his eyes and inhaled shakily. He always did that when he had his guard up. But I would be damned if I let him block me out. "Come on Nate, please. You can tell me anything, you're my best friend." I could tell that I had gotten to him then, because he turned to face me, and his eyes locked with mine. 'He definitely looks tired, I am making him take nap later…' I thought to myself. _

"_Dan." He said simply. It was then that I noticed what he was looking at before, because he turned back around to stare at it. It was Dan Scott's winning jersey, hanging up on the wall of the gym, in a big blue and white frame. _

_Dan Scott was Nathan's overbearing, rude, cruel, taunting, asshole of a father. He often was the cause of Nathan's stress and exhaustion. And I didn't blame him; Dan had been working Nathan especially hard lately, with his early morning and late night work out routines. Not to mention that Nathan also had rigorous basketball practice everyday. But that sure as hell wasn't enough for Dan Scott, his son didn't need a team, his son could do it all on his own, his son would be the best there was… or else. _

_I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "What did he say?" I stated._

"_The usual… how I'm never going to measure up, I'm weak inside, I have no real skill or determination-"_

"_Well he is wrong." I interrupted abruptly; I couldn't let him feel that way about himself._

"_Maybe he isn't… maybe I will never measure up…maybe I am weak on the inside…" As fury sparked in my eyes, Nathan sighed heavily. "Never mind, just forget it, Hales"_

"_NO!' before I knew it I was standing up and screaming, 'he cannot talk to you that way, you sure as hell don't deserve it, Nathan!"_

"_SHH, Hales! Please don't say anything to him, just let it go."_

"_I cannot agree to that Nathan. No one talks to my best friend that way and gets away with it. ESPECIALLY, not you own dad!" He took my hands in his, like he had done many times before when we had this conversation. _

_He looked into my eyes, broken. "Hales. Please." He begged so quietly that I could barely hear him. The desperation in his eyes caught me off guard and I exhaled bitterly, pulled him up with me. _

"_Okay, Nate. But next time I'm going to kick your dad's ass, alright?" I stated looking him directly in the eyes._

"_Okay" he said as a hint of a smile played on his lips. "Come on I don't want to miss Tyler, loser."_

_I chuckled, as he threw his arm around my shoulders, he always had a great way of diffusing a serious situation. "And… Nathan?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I'll always be here for you, always and forever."_

I felt tears trickling down my face, but I didn't make a move to wipe them away. I felt like a bug. And all I wished was that someone would come along and squish me out of existence. Just than the doorbell rang, and I jumped up and threw the door open, hoping with all my heart that it was Nathan. My face fell however, when I saw my boyfriend of 11 months standing in front of me, with his arms crossed, and a harsh scowl on his face. _Shit, be careful what you wish for._

"Oh… hi, Damien."


	2. Chapter 2

Damien West… my boyfriend of almost 11 months. Damien was on the basketball team with Nathan, and he had once been the captain of the team…until Nathan joined. They had been rivals on the basketball court since they both joined little leagues when they were six, but when his captain position was withdrawn, their rivalry hit its peak and the basketball team had been split up. From then on it was 'Damien's team' vs. 'Nathan's team'. The really messed up part of it all, was that they were all actually on the _same _team, but it didn't make a difference to them. They hated each other and everyone knew it.

I was and am the co-captain of the cheerleading squad, with one of my best friends, Brooke Davis. Damien asked me out randomly one night after practice about one year ago; the beginning of sophomore year, but I had rejected him… I knew the stories. Damien West was a playboy, womanizer, and heartbreaker. But then over the next month he had really proved himself; sending me flowers, promising me a fairytale date, and never failing to tell me how beautiful I was everyday until I finally said yes.

And he sure was right, our first date had been magical, and he definitely made me feel like a princess: pulling out my chair, opening doors for me, and dazzling me with his perfect smile. From there, we dated for another month, until he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, to which I obviously accepted. The stupid part of it all was that I had kept me and Damien's dating a secret from Nathan. Back then I foolishly thought, 'why cause a problem if it may not go anywhere?' And I _knew_ then, that Nathan would have a field day when he found out, and he sure as hell had.

Just thinking about how he had reacted to my news of being Damien's new girlfriend made me sick to my stomach. We were now 17, in our junior year of high school, and the thought of his face, _still _made my stomach twist in regret.

"Hey" I said hesitantly, not sure of how to handle the situation, considering that my face was still covered in wet, glistening tears.

He made no move to comfort me or ask me what was wrong; instead he just stood there, saying nothing… a brick wall. It wasn't like I had expected him to comfort me, he really wasn't that type, but that didn't stop the sadness that washed over me.

He took me by surprise when he suddenly stomped into the house suddenly, shoving past me without so much as a backwards glance, as he headed for the kitchen. I grabbed hold of the counter to stop myself from falling backwards.

**CRASH**

I turned around miserably to see a broken picture frame lying on the ground. I bent down to inspect the damage and then zeroed in on the picture. I small smile immediately crept onto my lips; it was a picture from my family's vacation two year ago to Florida. Naturally, Nathan had been there too (he is basically a member of the family) and in the picture he had his arm slung over my shoulders and a big, cheesy grin on his face. I missed those days- when it was just Nathan and me against the world. Those were the days when we could have more than a ten-minute conversation without one of us stalking off.

My eyes traveled over in the photo and I saw the cheerful expressions of my four siblings. I was the youngest of two older sister's- Quinn and Taylor- and two older brothers- Matt and Nick. Quinn was 26 and Nick was 23 and they had both already graduated from college and were currently off experiencing the world. Taylor was 19 but had dropped out of college half way through her freshman year so she was experiencing the world also. Well, in Taylor's case, she was experiencing the inside of bar's and strip clubs. Taylor was… Taylor. There was never a real way of describing her; she definitely marched to the beat of her own drum. She wanted what she did and she did what she wanted. She was definitely one of a kind.

Then, on the other hand, there was Quinn, who was just an amazing all around person. She was beautiful for starters, not only in appearance, but also in personality. She was currently off in Africa taking photographs of 'moments in time, that people miss daily' or something like that. That, was what she told me when I had whiningly asked her why she was had to go all the to Africa to take a couple stupid pictures. I had been very bitter at the time when she told me. She told me, _"Hales, I just want to capture a moment in time that makes a stranger open their eyes to some piece of the world they're missing out on"._ Just thinking back on that conversation had me filled with admiration. Quinn was without a doubt the sibling I was closest with.

Nick was really nice as well, but he also knew how to be a real pain in the ass, when he felt like it.

Then, finally my eyes fell on Matt, all the way over to the right in the picture. He was sulking with his arms crossed because some surfer dude had just run by and complimented me on my '_great ass'_. Everyone else laughed, but Matt just turned around sharply and gave the guy a death glare. Matt had always been extremely overprotective of me, it got annoying at times, but I knew that it meant he loved me, in his own screwed up way. I chuckled quietly, remembering when he threw his towel at me and barked at me to _cover up because I looked like I was 'asking for it'. _Nathan had gotten a good laugh out of that one. Naturally I was pissed at Matt for basically calling me a slut, but I was use to it by now, he had one hell of a temper when it came to boys and me.

Matt was Taylor's twin, so he was also 19. But unlike Taylor, he actually stayed in college and was now in his sophomore year. Before I could continue with my thoughts I heard Damien's booming voice carry from the kitchen.

"Haley!" he growled in menacing tone. _Shit. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood up._

I quickly picked up the pieces of broken glass and shoved the photograph in the top draw. I then took a deep breathe before rushing into the other room. I immediately froze in the doorway though, when I saw his face: he was fuming. His arms were folded and his mouth was down casted in a pissed off frown. But it wasn't just his appearance that had me frightened… it was his eyes. They had fire dancing in them. And the fire looked like it was seeking out someone to burn. Neither of us said anything and I just continued to stare at his heated glare, cringing helplessly.

"Um, what's wrong?" I questioned quietly not being able to handle the silence. My head was down casted and my eyes remained glued to the floor.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to ask.

"WHAT'S WRONG?' he screamed, moving instantly to tower over me menacingly. 'What's wrong is that your _best friend' _he sneered 'got me suspended from the team!"

I was shaking uncontrollably. "I know, I talked to him about it earlier.' I rushed out, that had been what Nathan and I were discussing before he stormed out, leaving me alone until Damien came over.

His expression told me that informing him of my conversation with Nathan had been a mistake. He definitely hated Nathan. I tried to recover from my previous words, "I... uh, told him that he needed to back off, and he admitted that he went to far, and told me to apologize to you about it." I lied. I felt my stomach flipping upside down, I absolutely _hated _lying, but what was I suppose to do? If I didn't calm Damien down then who knows where this conversation could go. It didn't go unnoticed by me that his hands were currently balled up in tight fists. But then he did something that I hadn't been expecting, he laughed. It wasn't a pleasant, gleeful laugh but rather a spiteful, arrogant snicker. My head snapped up in surprise, but was sure he didn't notice because he was too busy smiling smugly to himself.

"I always knew that guy was a pussy" he smirked

I felt my temper rise, but I bit down on my bottom lip, in an attempt to not say anything, what good would that do anyway? I was already in enough shit as it was. It was then that I realized how raw my lip felt. I must have been biting down on it since Damien walked in- nervous habit.

He took a seat at the table and put his feet up and his hands behind his head, rocking the chair back in an 'I rule the world' sort of manner.

"Well what should we do now?" he inquired, with a kink of his eyebrow.

"I don't feel so good actually… I was thinking I might take nap or something." Fighting with Nathan and then Damien had taken a lot out of me and I just wanted to curl up in a ball on my bed with my stuffed animals and have a much-needed sleep.

Shock immediately took over his expression. _Why was it so fucking shocking that I wouldn't want to fool around? Jeez. _ He then took his feet off the table and settled his chair back on the ground.

"You don't want to spend time with you boyfriend who just got kicked off the basketball team?" he question with a slight edge in his voice.

"-Temporarily.' I cut in 'you'll probably be back on the court in two weeks, tops"

"Regardless, I just lost something really important to me, and as my girlfriend you should want to comfort me-"

"By what? Giving you a blowjob!" I interrupted, fuming. I'm so done with this crap. What was this, national shit on Haley day? Well, no more. "I'm having a bad day too, incase you didn't notice when you so rudely marched into _my_ house. So I would really appreciate it if you left and let me rest."

By the look on his face, he definitely wasn't expecting my reaction. He probably thought that because I didn't stick up for myself that much. But I was now.

"Fine, whatever. Call me when you're not so PMS." And with that, he left, making sure to slam the door on his way out.

Jesus, what was with people and slamming my front door?


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo Nate! Wake up, dude!" Lucas Scott yelled from the kitchen table downstairs. He was eating a bagel- well, more like shoving it aggressively down his throat- while he finished up on some last minute homework.

"Ugh. What have I told you about calling me dude, loser?" Nate questioned groggily, and slightly irritated.

"Damn, what crawled up your ass this morning? You've been acting like a jerk, ever since you got back from Haley's 3 days ago. And don't think that dad hasn't noticed, cause he's been bitching about it to _me_ ever since you stormed out in the middle of our training lesson." Lucas pointed out, glaring at his older brother.

Lucas was one year younger than Nathan, and a sophomore in high school. He didn't really fit into any cliques at school since he could be regarded as either a jock or a nerd, considering his obsession with literature and how he never ceased to always have his head stuck in a book.

But it was the same with Haley. She also loved school, books, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. It was something that no matter how hard Nathan tried, could never understand. How could _anyone_ like school? Ew, just thinking about it made him dread the long academic day ahead of him.

He probably hated school so much because it never came easily for him. It was one of the things he really envied Lucas and Haley for. After all, neither of them had to try very hard in school, and were both straight A students at the top of all their classes.

He hated to admit it, but when report cards came out and Dan demanded to see them, he always felt embarrassed. Granted, Dan didn't care too much about grades… the only thing he really cared about was sports, but it still made him feel insecure when their dad reviewed Luke's straight A's and his straight D's in his two hands. He just felt like he never measured up in his family. Not to his dad, with basketball. And definitely not to his younger brother when it came to grades.

Not to mention how hard it was being best friends with Haley and Lucas. Whenever they would start up one of their 'intellectual conversations' he always felt stupid. It was like he just couldn't measure up or fit in with them… considering how he barely knew what they were saying half the time. Usually, when they brought that stuff up, he would just nod occasionally and try to keep the boredom from slipping into his voice.

Nathan sighed heavily; he did feel bad that his problems were causing his brother trouble. He didn't mean to cause Lucas a hard time. He, of all people, knew what it was like to be tormented by their father, Dan Scott. After all, Dan has mercilessly bullied him for years now, ever since he became the captain of the Tree Hill Ravens. Now all their relationship consisted of was early morning runs, some harassment, a one on one basketball game, more harassment, and than to top it all off, 'training', as Dan liked to call it. But to Nathan and Lucas it was referred to as _'the two hours from hell'_.

"Look Luke… I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to make things hard for you. I just… I couldn't be there anymore. His constant taunting and jackass comments were just getting to much for me… especially after the week I had." Nathan apologized dejectedly, watching his brothers' expression for any indication of whether he would be forgiven or not.

He watched as Lucas exhaled and then looked up to speak. "Yeah, it's okay man. I know you didn't mean too. It's just dad… he's won't stop bashing on Haley and-'

At the sound of her name, Nathan tensed up. He _hated_ when his father criticized Haley. Dan thought that Haley was a distraction to him and Lucas or some shit like that. Dan had tried to convince him numerous times to find new friends, _sorry that I don't converse with self-absorbed asshole's who only care about getting girls in bed_, he thought sarcastically.

"Don't worry, I stood up for her" Lucas spoke up, when he saw how tense Nate had gotten.

"Whatever, lets just get to school before dad comes downstairs and offers to drive us."

The car ride to school was completely silent, neither said anything, but Lucas could tell that something had been bothering Nate the last couple of days, so he figured he had to ask.

"Um… Nate' he hesitated, unsure of how to proceed, 'I uh…just. Fuck it, what's wrong, dude?"

"What did I say about the _dude _thing?' He stated curtly, never taking his eyes off the road. Two more minutes of silence dragged on, until he pulled into the parking lot, sighed, and turned to face his brother. But Lucas quickly spoke up before he could say anything.

"You can't fool me, Nate. I know whatever is wrong has something to do with Haley, so you might as well tell me or I can just ask her later."

Nathan looked at his younger brother and could instantly tell that any bullshit lie he made up would not satisfy him. He had to tell him the truth. _Who knows, maybe talking to someone about it will make me feel better? _He thought but then realized it would probably only screw things up more for him. Fuck it.

"It's fucking Damien West. I was just so sick of his crap and sick of his big talk. Every time the guy opens his fucking mouth I want to punch him. Remember what he was saying the other day in the locker room? _Haley's a freak when were alone" _he mimicked, getting disgusted by the thought of the two of them together.

And by the looks of it, so was his brother. Lucas's face was all scrunched up in disgust. But neither of them were grossed out by the thought of Haley naked… cause let's face it; they had both imagined it at one point or another.

Luke had a small crush on Haley, but would never admit it, because he always thought that Nathan was pining over her and just didn't have the balls to admit it. Lucas couldn't kid himself, either. He knew completely well that Nathan and Haley were meant to be together; they were both just too blind to see it. But they would… eventually. He was sure about that.

"-And I just couldn't take it anymore. I _couldn't_ listen to him anymore, so…" Nathan trailed off remembering, with a hint of a smug smile on his face. What he had done was pretty clever, he had to admit it.

"What did you do man? And does it have anything to do why Damien hasn't been to practice the last couple of days?" When Nathan smiled at him, he instantly knew that Nathan got Damien suspended from the team. YES. "Shit, man! How did you manage to get him kicked off the team?"

"Well first off, he's not off the team, he's just suspended' Nathan stated slightly annoyed, 'but I _might_ have framed the whole bus stealing thing on him"

"WHAT! How did you convince Coach?"

"Well… that AV, sports announcer kid who's at all the games, Lips, or whatever-'

"Mouth." Lucas corrected

'Yeah, whatever, he _might_ have been taking footage, and I _might_ of bribed him out of it." When Lucas gave him a questioning look he continued, "I kinda sorta promised him a date with Brooke…"

Lucas's eyes went wide and then he burst out laughing.

"Aw shut up, Luke. It was the only thing the kid would go for. I tried everything, but he kept pushing it."

"Brooke…never…will…do…." Lucas forced out in between fits of laughter. While he was laughing though, he couldn't help but notice this weird feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Like it _hurt_ hearing about Brooke possibly going on a date with some other guy. _Weird_ he thought to himself contemplating the feeling. While he was thinking about it an image of Mouth and Brooke making out played in his head and his fists balled up. Him and Mouth were friendly; he seemed like a really nice kid… _so why did he suddenly want to kick the crap out of him? _And it wasn't like he hadn't talked to Brooke at all before, they were actually kind of friends, but it wasn't like they dated or anything either. He had no right to feel possessive over her… _so why did he?_

Before Lucas could ponder the situation any more Nathan spoke up. "Well if she doesn't go for it, then it's not my problem. Cause I already got the tape and got Damien suspended" he added in with a shrug and a smug smirk.

When Lucas was done with his thoughts he turned to his brother confused, "but wait…that still doesn't explain why you've been in a bad mood these last couple of days…"

Nathan grimaced, hoping that he had successfully avoided the topic all together, "well after school I got a text from Haley telling me to _come over right now _so I did. And man… I wish I didn't. The second I walked in her front door she was giving me an earful. _Why did you get Damien kicked off the team _and _I just don't understand how you could do something like that_ and _why can't you guys just leave each other alone! _She wasn't yelling or anything but just the way she was looking at me. Like she was so disappointed in me. It made me sick to my stomach. I thought I was going to throw up. I just couldn't believe it; she was sticking up for him. She was taking _his_ side over mine! We've been best friends since fucking pre-school! That's supposed to mean something!" Nathan fumed, obviously very upset with how she had reacted. It wasn't like he expected her to be _happy _about him getting her douche bag of a boyfriend kicked off the team but… he didn't anticipate that she would pick sides. Especially when the side she picked wasn't his.

"Well…' Lucas started softly 'he is her boyfriend…"

"It doesn't matter, the guy is an asshole and she should know that! I mean just last month the guy soaked my locker. I had to wear women's clothes out of the lost and found for fuck sake! And I doubt that she was giving _him _grief about it!"

"So what did you do when you guys started fighting?" Lucas asked, changing the subject.

"What it seems I keep doing every week, now. I stormed out and slammed the door. She was yelling after me, but I was just so pissed that I couldn't turn around." Nathan finished with a shrug of his shoulders. He played it off, but he actually felt really bad about leaving Haley like that. He didn't mean to slam the door in her face, he just was so angry it kind of happened. And the next thing he knew he was home, punching holes in the garage walls… which he would have to fix later because his dad found out.

The sound of Whitey's whistle filled the gym, along with his yelling, "GET IT TOGETHER, LADIE'S. YOU ALL PLAY LIKE BUNCH OF WINDING GIRL SCOUTS!"

Nathan knew that he wasn't playing to his best potential, but how could he? Haley was standing a mere 40 feet from him and he couldn't even say hi. He stole a quick glance at her, like he had been doing all practice long, and saw her doing a split in her little cheerleading outfit. God, she looked so adorable. _Adorably sexy, _he thought before he quickly shook the thought out of his head. This was Haley James, his best friend, he couldn't think about her that way.

Whitey noticed Nathan's distraction and blew his whistle right in his ear. "NATHAN SIT YOUR ASS ON THE BENCH!"

Nathan knew not to test Whitey so he immediately took a seat on the bench. He looked over and saw the girls talking_, they must be on a 5 minutes break_, he thought. And then without thinking he went over stand in front of Haley. This was his best friend and he missed her. She turned when she saw him approaching out of the corner of her eye. She sighed, she wanted to badly to go over and talk to him during practice but she was too scared that he would send her away… after all, he did slam a door in her face.

"Hey, Hales, can we talk?" He asked tensing up. He was slightly nervous for her response, _what if she said no?_

"Yeah, of course." She nodded walking them over to the bleachers. He exhaled the breathe he didn't even know he was holding and followed her.

When he sat down next to her he placed his hand on hers and looked into her gorgeous brown eyes. _Wow her eyes are beautiful. _"I just wanted to apologize about how I left the other day. I didn't mean to be such a jerk and slam the door and all. I let my temper get the best of me and I'm so sorry."

When he saw her smile softly, his heart fluttered. He loved it when she smiled. "It's okay, Nathan. Apology accepted. And I'm sorry, also, for not hearing you out. I shouldn't have just jumped to conclusions like I did. But I just want to put it behind us now, I don't want us fighting anymore, I hate it." She admitting, saying the last part quietly as she bit down on her lip. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Me too." He said while he hugged her.

"I love you, Nathan, you know that right?" She breathed as her head lied on his chest. She breathed in the smell of him. _Damn, he smells amazing… better than Damien does. _She quickly shook the thought from her head.

He smiled softly at her before bending his neck down and kissing the top of her head_ Fuck, she smells so good, like strawberries, _"I love you, too, Hales." He said throwing his arm around her. "What do you say we get outta here? I think were in desperate need of some of that goddess food!"

"Food of the Gods." She corrected giggling "And I think that is the perfect plan."


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, Damien. That feels amazing." She breathed out as he took her earlobe delicately between his teeth and nibbled. Damien had come over her house early this afternoon and they went out to breakfast, he came shopping with her and didn't complain once, -which she made sure to thank him for later- and in the middle of ordering Chinese food he started kissing and sucking on her neck. Now it was 11:40 pm and they were sitting on the couch, _attempting_, to watch a movie.

It had been an amazing day; she had to admit. Damien had been so sweet all day, making sure to open every door and pull out every seat. And than when they went shopping he surprised her with a gorgeous heart drop necklace. It hung loosely around her neck and fell just above her boobs. The little heart was so exquisite that her breath literally caught in her throat when he placed it around her neck and turned her around to face the mirror. Like she said… an amazing day.

Damien was back on the team now and he and Nathan hadn't had a problem yet, as far as she knew. And she was very proud of both of them; after all, all she really wanted was for her best friend and boyfriend to like each other. Was that so much to ask? _Yes._ A voice spoke up in the back of her head. She shook the thoughts from her head and focused on the sexy boy in front of her.

Damien's mouth worked its way across her jaw line and down her neck, instantly grabbing her attention. She smiled to herself when he started nipping at her shoulder. Damn. The boy sure knew how to make up for being an asshole. It was a little over a month since their big fight and although they acted like nothing was wrong, they still hadn't talked about it and made up like a normal couple. So she guessed that this was the _Damien_ way of apologizing. It always was. He would show up randomly, be a perfect gentleman, buy her something beautiful, and than take the rest of the night to please her in every way he could. And he was being pretty fucking attentive, if she said so herself.

"Hales' he groaned looking up into her eyes 'your so beautiful" he stared at her longingly for a few seconds before he went in for a rough kiss. This kiss wasn't like the ones she had been getting earlier in the night- it was urgent, demanding, and slightly unnerving. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. She had seen that look many times before. It was pure lust. But there was something else. Something in the way he was looking at her made her nervous. She shifted her body away from him and pretended to be watching the movie. When he started rubbing his hand up and down her thighs, she realized she had to say something. _Fuck, why does he always have to ruin it?_

"Damien," She said in a warning tone. "You know I want to wait."

His sexy smirk fell and she watched as frustration clouded his eyes. "Wait for what!" He demanded harshly. "We've been going out for almost a year, and you still haven't given it up to me yet. It's starting to get old, Haley. And frankly, I don't know how much longer I can wait. If you keep cock blocking me like this than I don't know if we'll even make it to one year!" He was glaring at her furiously now.

Shock was fixed on her face. But that emotion only last a fraction of a minute before his words registered in her mind. Anger boiled to the surface and she felt her temper skyrocket. _He did NOT just go there. How dare he! _

"Get out." She demanded furiously. "Now." She asserted when he didn't make a move to leave.

She watched as Damien stood up sharply and made his way to the door "Prude!" He sneered as he slammed the door as hard as he could.

She stood their standing at the door as her tough exterior slowly fell away. It was then that she started to sob uncontrollably. _How could a day that had so much promise turn out so bad?_ She wondered scornfully.

As she sat on the living room floor, crying hysterically, she wished with all her heart that her parents were here. She yearned for the comforting arms of her sweet mother, Lydia, but fate had other plans for her. Lydia had died in a tragic car accident when Haley was 12 years old. She was late picked her up from school, so she ran a red light, and didn't even have to look before a car slammed into her. She died upon impact, leaving Haley, a young adolescent who had yet to experience boys, puberty, or the ups and downs of life, with so many questions.

She knew that some of her questions and concerns she could of asked her father, Jimmy James, about; but due to his wife's untimely death he needed to go back to work. He was once a sailor and was forced to return to his life of extended business trips. He came home for a week or two every few months and occasionally was home for Christmas, but it never gave Haley the experience of having someone to look up too, or admire, like most kids had.

The closest she ever came to a mother and a role model was Lucas and Nathan's kind-hearted mother, Karen. She was the sweetest, kindest person she had ever met. It still thoroughly confused her how someone as amazing as Karen could of fallen in love and married someone like _Dan._

Thankfully though, Karen came to her senses a few years back when she found out that Nathan had taken drugs to advance his game, _just_ to make his father proud. Thathad been the final straw for Karen, and she immediately demanded a divorce. Dan had not made it an easy process, much to be expected, but she eventually got what she wanted- freedom and safety for her and her boys. The only problem Karen faced was the custody battle. She tried to get full custody of Nathan and Lucas but Dan was relentless. In the end, she received custody of them during the week, and Dan got custody of them on the weekends.

"Nathan?" She asked choking on her tears. She didn't know how she ended up calling him. All she knew was that her body was craving the security of his muscular arms, and she was helpless to stop herself from calling him. She _needed _to hear his voice. She _needed _to know that _someone _was there for her.

"Hales? What's wrong, sweetie?" she could detect the blatant concern in his voice. And just like she'd hoped, hearing his voice made her feel a little bit better.

"I-I-I had a fight-" she stammered. It was hard getting her words out when she couldn't even get her emotions under control "-with Damien."

She couldn't see but his mouth curved into a hard line. He had been trying extremely hard not to fight with Damien since he rejoined the team. And it was all because of one thing: his best friend, Haley. If it weren't for Haley he would of pummeled that jackass by now. And it had been _hard_ to resist. Every single time that dirtball opened his mouth; he just wanted to knock him out. He actually often daydreamed about it when he was in a bad mood… and it never failed to cheer him up.

What had that bastard done now? _If he hurt her, I'm going to kill him. _He thought as his fists balled up at his sides.

"Don't move. I'm coming right over, Hales."

"Oh-okay" She managed to get out.

"And Hales?"

"Yes?" She asked quietly

"I'm glad you called. I'm always here for you. Always and forever." He said, smiling softly as the memory flashed in his head.

"Thanks, Nate. I'm so grateful that I have a friend like you. You're too good for me."

As he hung up the phone he couldn't help but contemplate what she said. _You're too good for me. _He repeated over in his head.

_No, I'm not good enough. _


	5. Chapter 5

"James…' Lucas whispered, poking at her arm 'you have to get up, it's time for school."

Ever since Haley's fight with Damien and her hysterical phone call with Nathan, he had _insisted _that she stay at his house. "I don't want you being alone right now, Hales." He had said, leaning her head up to look into his eyes, while he simultaneously wiped away the tears that were freely rolling down her cheeks.

When she turned over, pulling the blanket on top of her- in an attempt to get rid of Lucas- he chuckled. "Aw don't be like that, James! You know I'm only waking you up to help _you _keep your perfect attendance, you nerd" Luke joked pulling the blanket off of his friend good-naturedly.

"Hey! You shouldn't do that, Luke! I could have been sleeping naked, ya know!" she said exasperated as she covered the skin showing from her less than there tank top.

He laughed, "Oh, I know" and then winked at her obnoxiously.

Haley snorted loudly while rolling her eyes. "I think your reaching that dangerous line Luke…" She said in a grave voice, shaking her head back and forth disapprovingly.

"What line?" He asked nervously

"The cocky line. You know, the one your big brother is currently the ring leader of!" She said throwing a pillow at him jokingly. "But I do think that you've been spending too much time with **Nathan**- she screamed so he could hear her talking about him from his room- and his cocky, '_I'm a Scott'_ attitude is starting to rub off on you, kid."

"Hey! Would you guys keep it down?' a very groggy Nathan asked- shuffling into the room- while at the same time yawning making it sound like _'eyyy, wwu oo ya kaape it down?'_

Haley and Lucas looked at each other before they burst out laughing. But even while she was clutching her sides from laughing-pain she couldn't help but notice how cute Nathan looked with his bed head. She could imagine herself going over to him and running her fingers through his short, jet-black hair, in an attempt to smooth it out.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Nathan asked Haley, whilst gesturing to his face. Before she could answer he smirked sexily and inquired, "or are you just mesmerized by my extremely handsome features?"

Haley watched his eyebrow kink up in question and a light blush immediately painted her cheeks. _Shit. Why must my body always betray me? _ _Wait, you have more stressing matters to deal with than blushing in front of your friends… Nathan just caught you staring at him! Well he was looking pretty adorable…and that smirk. Damn. His face has definitely matured…and so has his body…thank god he came in with a shirt on!... Wait why am I talking to myself? K, It's official… I've gone crazy._

Before Nathan even had time to look up a pillow was flying at his face, "get out of here, you butthead! There isn't enough room in here with your ego!" Haley laughed jokingly.

"Butthead, huh? Real mature, Hales" Nathan said shaking his head at her childishness and turned his back to leave.

Before she could even open her mouth to ask him if he was for real the pillow was flying back at her and she heard Nathan's deep laughing as he and Lucas jumped on top of her. "Come here, you _butthead_!" Nathan yelled, while he proceeded to give her a noogie. And from there ensued a long running pillow fight, until Haley realized the time -of course- and went on a long rant about how if her perfect attendance was ruined than she was going to be cutting off some of the boy's _manly parts. _Lucas and Nathan looked at each other quickly before shuddering at the thought. _God forbid. _

Even as she was storming around his house like a maniac Nathan couldn't help but notice how hot she was when she got pissed off. _Shit! You have to stop doing this to yourself, man. She's never going to feel the same way. _He thought as despair creeper up on him, until he warily realized he had been talking to himself. _Fuck, what kind of weird ass person talks to themselves? This is just another reason why Haley is too good for you. At least she doesn't talk to herself like a freaking mental patient. _The voices in his head carried on bickering back and forth, until a he felt a petite hand hit him up the backside of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he whined rubbed the spot he had been smacked on moments prior.

"What the fuck are you standing there for, Scott? Get your ass in gear!" She growled before quickly turning around and storming out, causing her perfect ass to sway back and forth considerably… which only helped to fuel the massive hard on he had in his pants.

_Fuck. This is going to be a long day. _

"Nathan! Over here!" Haley called, waving him over from their regular lunch table. He smirked at her in a '_I know, we've only sat there everyday since freshman year' _kind of way. She smiled brightly at him and for a moment it felt like he couldn't breathe. _Wow. Her smile is so beautiful. _

When he collected himself he continued on over and took a seat in his usual spot in between Lucas and Haley. Next to Lucas were their good friends, Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer.

Brooke was medium height, with chocolate brown hair that slid just below her shoulders and a sexy yet cute smile that slyly said _do me. _She was absolutely gorgeous and fiercely independent. There was truly no one else like Brooke Davis.

Peyton was more on the tall side, with curly blonde hair that fell at her shoulders. She was insanely skinny but had a great body and pulled off the whole _artsy _look really well. She was kind of broody and sulky sometimes and liked to play the _tortured artist_ card frequently, but they all loved her anyway. Peyton and Lucas were also the best of friends. Most people thought that they were dating or that they would eventually date, but they could never imagine themselves with each other. Nate and Haley often teased them about it and they would always say the same thing, "ew… she's-he's like my sibling."

"Okay guys… so I was thinking' Brooke started grabbing everyone's attention- as usual, 'that I would run for class president! What do you guys think?" Everyone stared at her for a minute before Nathan burst out laughing and then soon after Haley and Peyton were giggling quietly. Lucas just turned and put his hand on hers

"I think you would make an amazing president, Brooke," he said looking her directly in the eyes, so that she would know he meant it.

"Aw thanks, Luke. It really means a lot that you believe in me… unlike SOME people!" she said loudly, turning to glare- oblivious to the smoldering stare Lucas was giving her- playfully at Nathan who was still laughing obnoxiously.

"Yo, Haley!" Vegas called walking toward their lunch table. Vegas was also on the basketball team with Lucas, Nathan, and Damien. He was Damien's best friend and sidekick. He did all of his bidding, following him around like a little puppy. Well, more like a huge puppy, with enormous muscles, who can bench press triple his weight, and snap any guy like a twig...

"Hi, Vegas. What's up?" Haley greeted politely turning around to face him, while Nathan and Lucas just glared.

"Damien really wants to talk to you, he said to meet him at your spot after school."

"Aw, poor little Damien can't deliver his own news, so he sent his little bitch to do it for him" Nathan cut in mockingly, before Haley had a chance to respond.

"Watch it!" Vegas growled taking a step closer to Nathan "Don't push me, Scott."

"Or you'll what? Eat me?" Nathan challenged standing up.

"HEY! Hey!' Haley shouted quickly with a nervous laugh 'quit it guys, we're all friends here."

When she saw Nathan ball up his fists at his sides, she knew she had to stop this before it got out of hand. She would die before she let Nathan get kicked off the basketball team for fighting. She was too scared to even think of what Dan would do to him then. "Alright, tell Damien I'll meet him by the tree in five minutes."

Vegas and Nathan pried their eyes off one another to both turn tensely towards Haley.

"Great" – "Absolutely not." They both replied at the same time- well Nathan more like growled it.

"Watch your back, Scott." Vegas called threateningly as he stalked off.

Nathan was too busy glaring at Haley to even pay the empty threat any attention.

"Nathan-" Haley started calmly, she hadn't forgotten that they were standing in the middle of the cafeteria, with everyone staring at them, including Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton.

"-Forget it, Haley.' He snapped harshly, he hadn't meant to say it so brusquely and the second he saw her flinch at his chilling tone he internally kicked himself, but he was so upset that he couldn't get his emotions under control. 'Do whatever the hell you want. You want to go back to that conceded, repulsive jackass… then go right ahead. I'm not going to stop you this time. But don't come crying back to me when he hurts you again, because he always will.' He said the latter part of the sentence quietly, his baby blue eyes smoldering into hers.

He took a step forward, towards Haley and leaned in- never taking his eyes off of her big brown ones- asserting quietly, "He's always going to hurt you, Hales. Always." He wanted to keep going so badly. He wanted to tell her that he would take care of her and that he would treat her right, that he loved her and that he would protect her…but he couldn't, and maybe he never would. With that thought he felt his insides recoil in pain.

Before he even registered what he was going to do next, he was hurling open the doors to the cafeteria and bolting through them.

He didn't even know how he'd ended up here, in the men's locker room- his sanctuary. What he did know was that he couldn't stand there any longer. He couldn't sit back and watch Haley, _his _Haley, go back to that dirtbag.

Not without a fight.


End file.
